


Everyone Make a Scene

by Moriavis



Series: Finding ways to come together [15]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry is trapped into conversation, Established Relationship, Halloween, M/M, barry and iris talk things through, barry picks dorky costumes, because Iris is smart, platonic friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 02:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9102694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moriavis/pseuds/Moriavis
Summary: Iris wanted to talk. Barry was both terrified and grateful.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Ha, so. Yeah. This happened. It's two months late, but people told me they didn't mind holiday fics being late, so here I am. I'm hoping to post a chapter a day until New Year's Eve, which will get me caught up on this series. *crosses fingers*
> 
> ANYWAY, thanks go, as always, to saekwha for the beta, and to all the readers who are still leaving me comments and kudos every day. They really mean a lot. <3 <3

~*~

Iris folded her arms over her chest and arched her eyebrow. "Isn't that cutting it a little close to home?"

Barry adjusted the bright red sleeves of his costume, scratching at his elbow and pulling at a loose thread in the cheap fabric before he dashed to the mirror and looked at himself. "It was either this or the Nutty Professor again. Cisco said this was the last one he could find. Apparently the Flash is the hot costume this year." 

"I wonder why?" Iris teased and then shook her head. "It's practically shiny red foil. This is ridiculous."

"Exactly." Barry pulled the cheap plastic cowl over his head and grinned, putting his hands on his hips. "What d'you think? Do I make a good Flash?"

"I don't think anyone's going to make the connection, that's for sure." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her face growing serious. "So. Are you ever going to tell me? Or do I have to pry it out of you?"

Barry paused and darted a look at Iris that he knew she didn't miss. "Tell you what?"

"Barr," she said in that way that meant she wasn't going to let go. "I'm not going to spell it out for you."

Barry swallowed and looked at the mirror again, staring at the cheap Flash replica costume he was wearing. He adjusted the cowl. It still didn't quite fit over his nose. "You're right. Nutty Professor it is." He zipped back into his closet, ripping off the Flash costume and shoving it onto his closet shelf before he pulled out the white doctor's coat he'd used for his costume the previous year. Coke bottle glasses and his geekiest clothes completed the look, and he zipped back in front of the mirror, messing up his hair. He caught Iris' gaze in the mirror and averted his eyes, unable to handle the concern in her face.

"I'm afraid." Barry was as startled by his outburst as Iris was, and he sank onto the edge of his bed, running his hands through his hair.

Iris sat down next to him and tilted her head, watching Barry with no judgment, and that just made him feel worse. Then guilt made his chest tighten, and he heaved a sigh, cutting another look at Iris. She reached out and squeezed his hand. "Barry. Talk to me. Please."

"I… I'm dating someone." Iris only nodded, not saying anything about how he was repeating things everyone knew, and Barry was grateful. "Everyone's going to be angry at me."

"I'm sure you're overreacting." She shifted closer to him on the bed, pressing her thigh against his. She bumped their shoulders together, dragging a smile out of Barry despite himself.

He took a deep breath, catching the scent of Iris' perfume, and closed his eyes, thinking of everything that had happened over the last year. "Leonard Snart. I'm dating Leonard Snart."

Iris blinked. "Wow. Okay. That's—Wow." She took a deep breath. "Okay. How long?"

"Just over a year. Our… our anniversary was on the 11th." Barry darted a look at her, but he couldn't figure out what she was thinking. "I thought it was the 13th." He sped up, pacing in front of Iris at least eighteen times before he forced himself to sit and slow down. "We had a little disagreement over, you know, when it actually started it."

Iris arched her eyebrow, and he fought the urge to duck his head. "He's still a criminal, Barry. You know that, right?"

"I know. I know." Barry pulled off the dumb glasses he had been wearing and ran his hands through his hair again. "Believe me, I know, I've gone over everything a thousand times in my head. He's killed people, he steals stuff. He's betrayed me and kidnapped Cisco and Caitlin. I _know_." He shook his head. "But he's changed—" Seeing Iris' eyes widen, he raised a hand to forestall whatever she was going to say. "No, really. I don't know if it's because of me or because of the fact that he's on the Waverider or what, but something about him is different. He's a hero. He goes out in the Waverider with the others knowing he could die, but he does it anyway. He makes me laugh." Barry's eyes stung, and he rubbed his palm hard against his eyes. "He looks at me like I'm important."

Iris reached out and pulled him in, squeezing him in a tight hug. He buried his face against her shoulder, trying to stop himself from crying as he hugged her back. "You are important. And I'm so sorry that you felt you couldn't tell me about him."

Barry pulled away so he could see Iris' face again. "It's not you, Iris. I thought it would be better, you know? To keep you guys separate. But now it just hurts. He's the first person I want to talk to when something happens, and I miss him when he's not here."

Iris frowned for a moment, and then her beautiful face softened, her dark eyes glossy in the light. "Barry, you sound like you're in love with him."

Barry swallowed but gathered his courage together and nodded. "I am."

Iris laughed, a small, hurt sound, and turned her eyes to the ceiling as she took a breath. "Right."

"I wasn't sure," he continued slowly. "I thought something would happen to ruin it, you know? That he'd hurt someone. That he'd do something we couldn't come back from. But he hasn't." He held his breath as he watched Iris look down at her hands, the long fall of her dark hair obscuring her face. "Please say something?"

Iris took a long slow breath. "I'm… just trying to process this. I mean, for the longest time, since Eddie's message, I thought that maybe—God. I'm sorry. Nevermind. I'm not being fair."

Barry took Iris' hands in his and squeezed her fingers. "There's a part of me that's always going to love you."

"I love you too, Barry Allen." She smiled and cupped Barry's face in her hands, shaking him back and forth. "Even when you make stupid decisions and fall in love with career criminals. Do you want my advice?"

"Please." He smiled and curled his fingers around her wrists, keeping them connected to each other for just a minute longer. "I feel like I'm running around in circles. I'm sure Len just expects me to keep him a secret, and I don't want to do that. But I also don't want to hurt you guys."

"Okay. First, don't tell Dad. Not yet, at least." Iris patted Barry's cheeks. "Get everyone else on your side first, and we can all tag team Dad."

"Yeah?" Barry nodded. "What's number two?"

Iris dropped her hands and grinned. "We're not going to that stupid Halloween party. We'll tell Cisco and Caitlin that we're skipping out on the club, and then we're going to pass out candy and eat popcorn while you tell me why you two fought about when your anniversary was."

Barry laughed, and the simple act of telling Iris made him feel lighter, like maybe everything would turn out okay. "I'll meet you in the living room."

Iris nodded, removing her cat-eared headband as she headed downstairs. Barry changed out of his costume and into more comfortable jeans and a sweatshirt and beat Iris to the kitchen, getting the air popper set up with popcorn kernels before he slowed enough to text Cisco that they weren't going to make it to the party.

Iris rolled her eyes when she saw him, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the counter. "So. A year?"

Barry nodded, his gaze flickering between Iris, his phone, and the air popper. "We're not sure if it's our first anniversary or our negative two hundred and thirty-ninth."

Iris arched her eyebrow and encouraged Barry with a wave of her hand. "You can't just stop there, okay? There have to be details when you say something like that."

"I was on a mission with the Legends a couple of times. Len thought our first date was in Prague, in 2255. _I_ thought it was in France, in 2113." Barry smiled at the memory. "He was right, really." Their conversation was interrupted when the air popper finally started spitting out popcorn into the bowl. "In my defense, I didn't know our first date was actually a date."

"Only you wouldn't know a date when you're on one." Iris laughed, and then they got their first knock at the door. 

She reached out and squeezed Barry's arm for a second before she retreated into the living room to grab the candy bowl. Barry smiled to himself when he heard Iris exclaim something to the trick-or-treaters and grabbed the bowl of popcorn, mixing the butter and salt over it in a burst of speed before he headed into the living room to join her.

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hello on [tumblr](http://www.moriavis.tumblr.com) or [Dreamwidth](http://www.lunesque.dreamwidth.org)! I'm always looking for more people to talk to. :D


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